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Bylsma Gets Two-Year Contract Extension As Penguins' Head Coach

The Pittsburgh Penguins have given head coach Dan Bylsma a two-year contract extension through the 2015-16 season, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Ray Shero. Bylsma had one year remaining on his current deal.

The Penguins also extended the contracts of assistant coaches Tony Granato and Todd Reirden.

“I believe in Dan Bylsma and I believe in stability with our coaching staff,” Shero said. “Dan is one of the top coaches in the NHL. His record speaks for itself. We fell short of our goal this year, and we’re all disappointed in that, but I believe – and our ownership believes – that Dan is the man to lead us into the future.”

Bylsma, 42, became the fastest coach in NHL history to win 200 games when the Penguins defeated Ottawa, 3-1, on April 22. It was just his 316th career game. He has the best winning percentage of any coach in Penguins history (.699) with an all-time record of 201-93-25 in five seasons.

He has led the Penguins to three 100-point seasons and five straight playoff berths. His 2012-13 team went 36-12 while winning the Atlantic Division and posting the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Bylsma also is the winningest coach in Penguins playoff history with 36 post-season victories and seven playoff series victories, including the 2009 Stanley Cup.

He received the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s most outstanding coach in 2011.

The native of Grand Haven, Mich. was named head coach of the Penguins on February 15, 2009, taking over for Michel Therrien. He previously was head coach of the Penguins’ AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and was an assistant coach with the New York Islanders and the AHL Cincinnati Mighty Ducks.

Bylsma played nine NHL seasons as a forward with Los Angeles and Anaheim. He played college hockey at Bowling Green.

Not sure what to think about this move. Bylsma seems to have the most talented team in hockey who has been underachieving since we won the cup. I really liked him early on and thought he might be one of the greatest coaches ever. I still think he's a good coach, but the luster on his defensive system seems to have worn off on me a bit. Maybe it's the players? Maybe it's our goalie. Maybe it's the combination. I guess I'm just losing conviction that this team is built to win in the playoffs.

Is Shero gonna be able to get top talent at the end of next year given the guys he got who we added into the mix and we still didn't win it all?

You don't get rid of a good young coach like this. Rumors had it that if we did let him go, the Rangers were ready to pounce on him with an "offer you can't refuse" immediately. Who would you replace him with? Someone like Alain Vignault who hasn't even shown that he can win the one Cup that Bylsma won, even with the talent Vancouver had (multiple President's trophies) or somelike like John Tortarella who tends to have success early on, but has such a grating personality that everyone tunes him out a year or two into his coaching tenure? Granato and Reirden are also solid assistants, so it is good to see that they are staying as well. Gilles Miloche is stepping down as goalie coach, though (reassigned as a scout), so it is probably a good thing that Fleury gets a different voice in his ear (since his struggles are no doubt mental, since he has everything you could as for physically). I think the defense will take care of itself in a season or two as many of our elite defensive prospects bloom, such as Maatta, Harrington, Pouliot, Doumalin, and Ruopp.

I'm completely fine with keeping him and have no idea who a better option would be unless it was a complete unknown. I do think it is interesting we only extended him for 2 years. That seems a little uncertain on the Pens part like they still want him to prove himself from here. He is a good coach and I would have thought they'd sign him longer.

He still had one year left on his current deal, so now he is signed for 3 seasons. Isn't signing a 2 year extension when you have 1 year left on your current deal typically what Cowher and Tomlin would do?

He still had one year left on his current deal, so now he is signed for 3 seasons. Isn't signing a 2 year extension when you have 1 year left on your current deal typically what Cowher and Tomlin would do?

I think Cowher/Tomlin always did a deal when they had 2 years left on their contracts. But I can't remember how long they signed for? I kinda expected a hockey coach to be longer termed for some reason. Maybe cause the star players are signing these super long deals which seem much longer and more committed than NFL contracts. Didn't Crosby do a 12 year deal? And Malkin 8?

Plus it feels like Bylsma should get a longer commit after having at least won one cup. But who knows? There's not enough sports right now and too many random thoughts are clogging my mind

Yeah, Sid got a dozen years but the new CBA has since put in a cap for contract length, and Geno got the new max of 8 years.

Hockey coaches tend to have short shelf lives. Bylsma is only the 2nd coach in team history to reach 200 regular season wins (which is remarkable in a sport in which 82 games are played each year). In order for Eddie Johnston to obtain his team record 232 wins, he needed 2 coaching stints with the team (one in the early 80's and one in the mid 90's).